With the exception of his opinion on season 3's ending, what Hec said. I actually think the end run of episodes for season 7 holds up pretty well - Dirty Girls through Chosen seemed pretty strong.

Huh, I think a re-watch is in order. I know I felt even better with season 6 going back and watching Hell's Bells through Grave in one big block.

Ya know, I've thought this before, and now I'm convinced: I think the wonky scheduling due to sweeps, etc is incredibly damaging. I suspect when watched in whatever timeframe that one desires, the episodes aren't quite as draggy (or "not moving the plot forward" or ...) as everyone seems to think. There's just the foreknowledge that "shit - this is the second to last episode before a six week gap and they are wasting my time with t insert personal bugaboo here !!!"

Ken, I think that you are correct about the scheduling and our perceptions of the season. I know that I've had the sensation - after a 3 or 4 or 5 week gap - of 'and this is all I get after all that waiting?', which I might not have felt had there not been the gap.

DH keeps saying that most of the shows he and I tend to like, including all the Jossverse stuff, would be both more popular and have better narrative flow under something more like the British system--fewer episodes, but run one after the other without the bizarre sweeps-induced gaps.

I'm starting to think of S7 as similar to S4. Because there were serious problems with the arc, but really a number of excellent eps separate from that arc. Conversations with Dead People, Selfless, and Storyteller were all great great episodes. Up to the highest standards of anything in the series. Witty and dark and smart. Throw in the arc episodes that worked (for me) and you get Lessons, Same Time, Dirty Girls, End of Days and Chosen. It's hard for me to see the huge decline people were talking about because...look at the quality there

Wrod. My list of quality eps for the season is somewhat longer, but even this list more than justifies (for me) the season. And I'll regret the 8th season that wasn't because I'd willingly accept a dozen weak episodes to get a handful of really great ones. I don't, after all, have to watch any episode I don't like again, but the ones I love I could watch forever on DVD.

Edited to add, I did love Graduation Day (yes, a computer snake, but the Mayor's speech, Snyder getting eating, the student body rallying behind the scoobs, the final take a moment scene). Also, interesting point about the schedule.

.

Elena, the Canadians got Firefly, right? And in U.S. broadcast order? Did you see it and enjoy it?

Well, currently (and if you've been posting over there forgive for not remembering - it does get confusing who posts where) the Firefly thread is mostly the province of the U.K.ers right now as they are just getting the show. In the appropriate order. And if anyone had any doubts about how fast they fell for the show, the U.K.ers seem to be proving that it's even easier when the shows are actually broadcast in the order they were supposed to. I feel the same way about waiting between episodes. I remember the good old days when it was mostly just start to finish new episodes for the season.

And, completely unrelated, I just heard a loud "cookie dough" from my TV. Hee.

Remember the First Evil's blog? The Blog stopped in February, but some of his friends and Sunnydale characters kept posting:

[link]

Elena, the Canadians got Firefly, right? And in U.S. broadcast order? Did you see it and enjoy it?

Yes, yes, and yes. Though it took me until OMR to fall head over heels in love with the show. And I do wonder what would have been had it been aired in intended order. And then I curse and weep and mourn and rage.

Xander searching for Anya

Copy and paste www.hostultra.com/%7Edcjensen/buffy7/chosen/chosen-226.jpg into a brower address bar to see..

(Edited by PMM because hostultra is evil.)

That took me to a horrendous cascade of porn pop-ups.

Mommmm. Dan's trying to make me cry!!!

Elena, wrody mcwrod wrod. Bushwacked is the one where I was hooked (and, as I've said, Mal kicking the bad guy into the exhaust vent pretty much made me think I was going to fall in love).

I don't even have the energy to rant against the mother-rutting Fox exectutives again.